Document Type
Professional Plan Capstone
Original Publication Date
2026
Client
Southside ReLeaf
Location
South Richmond
Date of Submission
May 2026
Keywords
Urban greening, Greenspaces, Blue spaces, Greenways, Capacity building, Green infrastructure, urban green infrastructure, blue green infrastructure, tree canopy, resilience, parks, urban design, regenerative urban design, environmental justice, climate resilience, urban heat, flooding, stormwater, public private partnerships, tactical urbanism, community based organizations, policy
Abstract
Southside is a frontline community within the City of Richmond that disproportionately experiences urban heat island (UHI) effect and stormwater flooding. Southside residents are vulnerable to climate change and have a low adaptive capacity for resilience, largely because of disinvestment and reduced access to greenspaces. This makes them more vulnerable to heat-related and respiratory illnesses, more likely to experience higher energy bills and less affordable housing, and more likely to be impacted by extreme weather. The city master plan Richmond 300: A Guide to Growth, adopted in 2017 (amended in 2021), acknowledges this context. However, community-based organizations (CBOs) struggle to find the through-line between evolving community needs, city-sanctioned priorities, and institutional, capacity, funding, and resource constraints.
The Southside Greening Plan synthesizes city-led plans, institutional dynamics, and existing conditions to identify initial priority areas for Southside ReLeaf. These priority areas will focus their programming to mitigate flooding and heat by increasing equitable access to greenspaces, improving community education, and through policy advocacy. This plan employed a methodology including city stakeholder interviews, best practice research, and comparative spatial data, plan, and community engagement archival analysis. Data collection and research showed that existing institutional frameworks rely heavily on community-led implementation and volunteerism, and that a more formal, collaborative, and intersectional approach for managing stormwater and urban heat provides better opportunities for advancing resilience and sustainability goals through urban greening. Recommendations provided in this plan align with these three main themes of partnerships, policy, and planting.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects